


Legacy

by PopPicWriter



Series: PopPicWriter's IG Drabbles [4]
Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Angst and Feels, Drabble, Gen, Minor Character Death, Short, Surprise Ending, maybe? - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-29 14:09:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19021513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PopPicWriter/pseuds/PopPicWriter
Summary: A bereavement brings Chanyeol back to Park Logistics, stirring up old memories for both of you.





	Legacy

**Author's Note:**

> Taken from my Insta account, where all of my drabbles are inspired by a single image.  
> The challenge is to write within the word limit of one post. So all of these are short fics.
> 
> Now that I'm posting here, I have expanded the word count a little, but not much.
> 
> Photos used are not mine!

 

Shutting off my computer, I rub my eyes. Four hours of looking at data on a screen is long enough to justify staying late at the office.

The building is eerily quiet, the entire company having closed early, in a gesture of mourning for the passing of our CEO, Park Soonyeol.

Ironic, considering how much the man detested low productivity, for any reason.

Mr. Park’s death was unexpected. An emergency board of Trustees has been put in place as interim company executors. The higher-ups have hinted that it would be good to show our faces to these Trustees at the funeral proceedings today, to get our foot in the door with the new regime. But, I drew the short straw amongst my colleagues to stay back and finalize the Quarterly Report.

It wouldn’t surprise me if they’d orchestrated it this way. I’m still the outsider here, being from the overseas branch of Park Logistics. I’m not exactly liked, being the youngest account manager in company’s history - the overachieving Wonderkid, swooping in to make them look bad…

Honestly, I don’t care.

To me, being here is preferable to the alternative. I’d rather work than watch my peers suck up to the greasy board members. And it would pain me to wander around, picking at expense finger food while mouthing platitudes of sorrow about Park Soonyeol, when I haven’t been able to feel anything but bitterness toward him for years.

I’d rather be here than there, watching and waiting for the one person that I know will appear. The one person I dread, yet yearn, to see …

I sigh, and stand up; relishing the pop of loosening kinks in my neck. A hot shower, a bowl of cereal, and an early night – it all shines in my future, like a comforting beacon. Behind the closed door of my home, I don’t have to answer to be anyone, don’t have to be anyone, but myself. It’s on days like today, that my loneliness doesn’t feel so burdensome, and it’s almost welcome.

I reach for my jacket on the coat rack, and notice a light coming from under the door of the executive office.

 _I thought everyone had left already_?

Looking in through the glass panel of the door, I see a man dressed in a formal suit, leaning over the desk.

_Chanyeol?_

My heart twists at the sight of Mr. Park’s younger brother.

He is still as tall as ever, still broad-shouldered. I would still fit so comfortably in those arms.

I’ve heard he’s made a name for himself in the art world. His sculptures are worth thousands, and he has been commissioned by celebrities and heads of state alike. I am incredibly proud that he is living his dream, even though I have no right to be.

His hair is shorter, but still wavy enough that I could run my fingers through the curl. I can recall the feel of it, if I close my eyes, and on many nights alone, I do. It’s permanently in my memory, the same way I can recall the gentleness of his lips, and the warmth of his smile, and the soft rasp of his voice.

On those nights, I can pretend we are still tangled together in my small bed, watching the car headlights etch patterns onto the ceiling, dreaming of our future.

_Chanyeol._

The reason I was avoiding the services today – the _person_ I was avoiding -  is instead _right here_ , in the company boardroom.

Chanyeol is nothing like his late brother; he is a kind, thoughtful, beautiful soul. He has the Park name, but he’s never used it for leverage – he wasn’t ever afraid to work. To appease his brother, to get the chance to pursue an Art degree, Chanyeol did a business internship in the company alongside other graduates, like me. In doing so, he made the invisible line of company hierarchy disappear – he felt like _one of us_. 

Perhaps that’s why I was so drawn to him, and fell for him so fast.

Perhaps that is why Mr. Park Senior always treated him so terribly.

_You’re an embarrassment, Chanyeol!_

_You’re a fool - useless, good for nothing!_

_What future do you have without this company, this legacy?_

_You’re nothing without me!_

I stare now at those shoulders which carried so much sadness, and had to listen to such verbal thrashings daily. Soonyeol had been his guardian since Chanyeol was 11 years old. The senior Park’s resentment towards his younger brother manifested in wanting to break him, wanting total control over his life. Maybe it was inevitable that Chanyeol’s goodness was all the sweeter for it… like a delicate rose among a nest of thorns.

When Chanyeol declared his feelings openly for me, Soonyeol flatly refused to accept me as a suitable partner. I tried everything to do better, _be_ better. I craved Soonyeol’s acceptance almost as much as Chanyeol’s.

The senior would praise my work in the company, and recognize my efforts in my department, in the same breath as criticizing every facet of my eligibility for his brother. He would reward me with one hand, and decimate my character with the other.

It made my head spin, almost as it is spinning now.

Chanyeol had never given up. He’d tried to shield me from every barb and dirty trick his brother threw my way, holding on to me even tighter.

 _I hate you!_ He would roar at Soonyeol in the midst of their explosive fights.

 _We don’t need your fucking acceptance!_ _I don’t want your legacy! Do anything you want, I won’t let you separate us! We are in love!_

 _I love you,_ He’d whisper to me, in the midst of our passionate love-making.

_I don’t need Soonyeol. I don’t even want this stupid fucking company. I’ll do anything, just don’t let him separate us._

_Please, darling, just a little longer. My training will be complete soon, and then… then we’ll finally be free._

I stumble back and slump against the wall, trying not to let the memories consume me. This isn’t my day to mourn.

_Chanyeol – I’m sorry._

I was weak. In the face of my doubts, and Park's Senior’s constant disapproval, I had wilted. I was afraid of losing my career. I was afraid of what Chanyeol might regret. I couldn’t picture making him  _choose_ , I couldn’t sabotage the future of Park Logistics; stealing away the sole heir. Robbing him of his legacy.

I couldn’t watch Chanyeol’s familial relations curdle with even more hate , not over _me_ ; even if his brother was so abhorrent.

So, I did what I thought was best at the time, I tried to amass a fortune of my own. I made myself indispensable to the company. I took promotions in remote places. I worked relentlessly, and became more and more unavailable, cutting off friends, colleagues, loved ones. I put up a wall, and I pushed Chanyeol away, until he understood that I could never be more than a Park Logistics employee – until he stopped trying to love me.

But I didn’t stop loving him.

_Chanyeol - What is he doing here?_

I enter the room before my heart can caution against it. I see the tremor in his shoulders, and hear his quiet sobs echo through the space.

I cover my mouth. My stomach twists again because I understand this - the need to cry in private, to drop every guard and take off the mask. I shouldn’t intrude on a moment like this. I have no rights to his life anymore, after all.

I should leave – it’s what I do best.

Before I can retreat, Chanyeol turns.

I see his eyes widen. Time and memories spin out between us, and it feels as though I’m drowning.

I know in that moment that nothing has changed for me – not a single thing.

My body wins it’s fight for oxygen, and, as color fills my face, I glance away.

"Sir, excuse me, I wasn’t…I didn’t mean…”

“It’s ok,” He replies, wiping his eyes. “It’s…it’s fine.”

It’s not fine. He looks so lost, so _bereft_. I want to go to him and hold him, but instead I clasp my hands together.

“You…you left the funeral?”

He drops his gaze. “It’s a circus. All the vultures, scheming for a piece of Brother’s estate, wondering if I’m going to try and take his place… I couldn't stay.”

He sniffles, and pushes his hands in his pockets. His eyes land on the name plaque at the head of the table – _Park Soonyeol, CEO._

“Somehow I feel closer to him here,” He adds, quietly.

 "I understand." And I do - because I'm becoming just like Soonyeol. I'm an empty nothing with no feelings, alienated from everyone, living for my work.

Maybe people will come and stand in a boardroom when I die. Or maybe no one will care. 

Chanyeol picks up the plaque, his shoulders sagging, and for the first time, grief pierces through my defenses. Park Senior is dead.

My heart breaks for Chanyeol. Soonyeol was his brother, his parent, his mentor – as well as his nemesis, his jailer, his albatross.

It must be disorienting to have a presence so large, suddenly gone.

“I am so sorry for your loss,” I murmur.

Chanyeol gives a brittle laugh, throwing the plaque back on the table, angrily.

"Why? He was a bastard, that treated everyone like dirt.”

The moment is over as quickly as it started. Pain etches Chanyeol’s face.

“Fuck - I don't know. Shouldn't I be rejoicing that he's gone? He hated me. He made my life Hell. He cared about money and business over everything else – _everything_. Even love…”

His red-rimmed eyes search mine so deeply that I look away.

“Well - Mr. Park was your only family, Sir,” I reply, mechanically.

“It is only right that you loved him, despite your difficulties. And Sir, perhaps, in time..”

"Stop it,” Chanyeol interrupts, softly. " _Please_.”

I freeze, eyes fixed on the floor because what else can I do? I don’t know what to _do_.

His voice is like a ragged sob. “Today of all days… don't – don’t call me ‘Sir’, like I’m some _stranger_.”

He moves closer, his scent so familiar that I close my eyes. I hear my blood rushing in my ears, and I think my entire soul is screaming in anguish. I don't want to be an empty nothing. I want another chance. I want to shield Chanyeol from all of this hurt.  _I_ want to be the one holding tightly this time –

But... I can't even dare to hope.

Can Chanyeol ever forgive me? Is it too late?

 I look up, as his eyes fill with tears again.

"I still love you," He confesses, simply.

My mouth falls open and I back away. “Oh…”

He still..this is real – _is_ it real?

Chanyeol flinches, perhaps he interprets my shock for something else, but he panics.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. “

 _No – no._ “Chanyeol…”

“I… know you don’t love me, but – I don’t think I can help that I sill feel it. Is there nothing for me in your heart? I am so alone, and…please, I just…I need to know that I’m not cursed to _lose_ everyone that matters to me.”

“Chanyeol…”

I try again, stopping him as gently as I can. I’ve recovered somewhat, and cup his face in my trembling hands, wiping away his tears.

"I - never stopped loving you,” I force out. “You are not alone. You never were."

I close the distance between us. I will die if I don’t.

I capture his lips with mine, and Chanyeol’s breath shudders, arms curling around me and holding on for dear life. I let him take what he needs, because I am his home. I am his life raft in a stormy sea, my fingers finding the waves at his nape to caress, anchoring him, loving him, even as my tongue seeks the warmth of his own in open, breathless, desperate kisses.

Chanyeol sighs, and speaks my name over and over.

“I’m here,” I whisper back; “I’m here, and I love you. Yeol. Forgive me, please forgive me…”

He doesn’t want to return to the funeral. He asks that I take him away from everything that reminds him of Soonyeol, back to my apartment, and that small bed that he still remembers.

I do it without hesitation, or shame. I lie with him while he sleeps, watching the streetlights on the ceiling while Chanyeol’s heated skin pressed up against me, like the mini furnace he always is.

i know that he will have to process the loss of his brother soon enough. There is still more emotional baggage to unpack. But I won’t do any more running away from the love of my life.

Our world is uncertain right now but - there's certainty in this.

Later, when we are sharing a bowl of cereal, He looks up at me with fond eyes.

“Say it again?” He asks.

“Again?” I chuckle lightly, although I really don't mind. I'll say as many times as he needs me to. 

“So that I know I’m not dreaming,” He affirms, the tiniest of smiles threatening to break through - happiness threatening to make itself known, even on such a difficult day.

“Ok.” I set the cereal bowl aside, and cradle his face, speaking softly, looking into his eyes. 

“I promise I won’t let you go again.”

He leans into me, body thrumming with happiness. “And?”

“And I promise, that our love be the only legacy that matters, this time.”

Chanyeol smiles, a genuine one that brings out a dimple. “I Love you, Jongin.”

“I love you too, Yeol. So much.”

Our lips meet again, for the hundredth time, and we are finally free. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Woah, this is the most additional text that I've added to my IG fics so far!  
> Here's your order of double Emo, with extra Emo on the side haha, wow, I'm sorry if this was over the top, but Chan-Chan's crying face does that to me :'(


End file.
